False Accusation
by aIchememe
Summary: When Ed is falsely accused of a murder, he turns to a childhood friend to help him prove his innocence.
1. The Accusation and the Escape

Edward Elric ran.

He ran until the edges of his sight were blurring and he couldn't hear anything other than the thrum of his pulse pounding in his ears. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest as he rammed straight into the wall of an alleyway. He pressed his forehead against the cold concrete for a few moments before dropping to his knees.

Closing his eyes, he let torrents of memories wash over him.

" _Edward Elric, you are under arrest for the suspected murder of Paul Beckett."_

Ed tried to steady his breathing, only to feel it hitch in his throat. He played the scene over once again in his head.

" _Brother?" Al's horrified gaze turned to him slowly. "What is he talking about?"_

 _Ed whipped around to face Al, returning his gaze before glancing over at Mustang._

He couldn't breath. He _couldn't_ _breath_.

" _I don't want to have to tell you again, Fullmetal." Roy's glare seemed to burn holes through him, and Ed's mind reeled._

" _Wha… What are you talking about?!" Ed exclaimed, slowly backing away from Mustang and his team. Their gazes reeked of hatred and disappointment; Mustang's especially. "I didn't kill anyone!"_

" _We have cold, hard evidence, Edward."_

" _No. No, no, no, no, nononono…" Ed stared at the floor, his mantra of "no's" filling his head and senses. It wasn't possible! He had sworn to himself- to Al- that he would_ never _kill anyone._

 _He didn't even realize he was running until he heard Mustang's angry yelling echoing throughout the halls of Eastern Command._

Ed let out something that sounded like a choked sob, ramming his head into the wall over and over and over again. He was gasping for air, staring down at his trembling hands with a terrified look on his features.

He didn't kill anyone… _did he_?

He shook his head to himself violently. It wasn't possible. He would rather give up two more of his limbs than kill someone. But then how had Mustang connected him to the murder that he and Al had inspected just a couple of days before?

It just didn't add up.

And what about Al? What would his little brother think? Would he believe Mustang or side with Ed? He couldn't risk going back to Eastern Command without getting arrested. Hell, he didn't know where he was now. He had been so stupid to just run; all it did was make him look guiltier.

He stared at his hands. They were still trembling, just not as much as they had been before. Shakily, he rose to his feet and peered out of the alleyway he was standing in.

The sky was gray, and at some point it had started raining. Not many people were out, and the only noise besides the pounding rain was the occasional rumble of an engine as a car skidded past him on the street. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the alleyway and began to register where he was. He recognized the bakery near the train station… The train station!

If he could just get away from East City, then maybe he could call Al from an outside line and explain that this was just a big screw-up.

Where could he go? He couldn't go to Teacher's place in Dublith for obvious reasons. If he went to the Hughes' household, Maes would surely leak something about his whereabouts to Roy, intentionally or otherwise. Until he could prove his innocence, Ed decided to stay out of his superior's grasp for a while.

Where was a place he could lay low? After a few excruciating moments of thought, an idea struck him.

Without any hesitation, he dashed off in the of the train station.

* * *

Ed had no problem getting _to_ the train station.

The hard part was getting _on_ the actual train.

Since he had left all of his belongings in his dorm back at the base, he had no possessions, let alone enough cash to buy a train ticket. So, with no better alternatives to choose from, he opted to sneak into one of the storage cars at the back of the train, squeezing himself in between two crates filled with who-knows-what.

The train ride passed uneventfully and uncomfortably. Trying to move was near impossible with the position he was in, so he passed the time by flicking his pocket watch open and closed over and over again.

He counted along with the hands on the clock, immersing himself into thoughts of how he could prove his innocence.

When had the time of death been? Had he had an alibi for that time? Surely he must've been with Al.

And how had the man died? He was… shot, maybe?

Ed groaned. His case was going to be impossible to prove.

Ed hit his head on the side of the crate he was leaning against as the train let out a long whistle to signify their arrival. Shoving his watch back into his pocket, he squeezed himself out from between the boxes and slid open the train car door. He waited until most of the passengers had gotten off the train before making his way out from the car.

He dashed through the station, avoiding any familiar faces on his way out. After he had reached the familiar dirt path that had been engraved into his memory, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. A wave of relief flooded over him as he trudged down the road.

He was safe here.

* * *

Ed knocked on the window. He made sure to not be too loud, though, as there was only one person he wanted to know of his whereabouts at the moment. Was that person even awake? The walk to his temporary hideout had taken him almost all of the afternoon, and Ed guessed that it was probably sometime around 11:00 PM.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as a familiar and very tired-looking face came into view.

"Ed?" The voice was slightly muffled as two hands shoved the window open. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey," He lifted a hand in an awkward greeting. "I'm sort of in a tight spot." He climbed into the room silently, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What? Don't tell me you broke your automail again."

He let out a sigh. "No, it's just…" Ed looked down at his feet. "I need some help."


	2. The Window and the Dresser

Winry noticed two things as she opened her heavy-lidded eyes.

First, someone was knocking on her window. Second, she was tired. _Very_ tired.

She groaned as she swung her legs over the side of her bed and trudged over to the window. Squinting, she tried to make out who it was.

...And her eyes widened with shock as she realized who it was. Wrenching open the window, she got a closer look at her visitor, confirming her suspicions.

"Ed?" She began, still completely in awe of the alchemist's appearance, "What are you doing here?" She noticed him tense up and lift up a hand in greeting before clambering in through the window.

"Hey," He muttered, looking down at his feet with a stormy expression laced into his features. "I'm sort of in a tight spot."

"What? Don't tell me you broke your automail again."

"No, it's just…" He looked as if he couldn't decide on what to say next. "I need some help."

* * *

Ed fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I didn't know where else to go," He spluttered. "I mean, everyone in Mustang's team is out to get me - no, scratch that, everyone in the _whole damn Military_ is out to me, and then Al -" He paused for a moment, running a hand through his hair. "Shit, I didn't even-!"

"Shut it. Let me think." Winry commanded from her slouched position on her bed. She glanced at the time. 1:27 AM. "Are you going to tell Al?" She inquired, her gaze not leaving the clock.

Ed stood up and paced around the room anxiously. "I have no idea! I don't know if he knows where I am, if Mustang is tracking me, if someone framed me, if they're looking for me, or-"

"I asked you to answer a question, not list off a bunch of 'what-ifs'!" She snapped, blue eyes ablaze with irritation. But her gaze softened once she met Ed's eyes.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Of _course_ he would be stressing.

"Listen, Ed." She began quietly, "I know that this is stressful, but could you please, _please_ , calm down a bit? I'm trying to think here, and your pacing isn't helping. Just sit down and relax for a few seconds, okay?" She tried to keep her tone as gentle as she could being both sleep deprived and slightly annoyed with the situation at hand.

"Right." Ed said curtly, looking down at himself like he had just realized that he was pacing. "Sorry." He flopped down into the seat at Winry's desk, drumming his fingers on said workspace and looking out the window.

From what he could tell, he hadn't been followed. At least there was _one_ positive he could add to his current list of all negatives.

Ed snapped to attention as Winry cleared her throat.

"Well, to be honest, I have no ideas whatsoever." She let out a gusty sigh. "All we can do is wait and hope that they find some evidence that you weren't at the crime scene that night."

Ed gulped.

"Could yo-" He was cut off by the harsh ringing of the telephone on Winry's desk. Instinctively, he reached for it, but he paused halfway as Winry rushed forward and answered it before he could grasp it.

She held the receiver with both hands, cradling it next to her ear as if it were the most fragile thing in the world.

"Hello?" She began tentatively, her voice barely above a whisper. Ed saw her knuckles go white as she gripped the receiver tighter.

"Yeah, it's me." At Ed's questioning gaze, she mouthed, 'it's Al' to him before continuing her conversation. She let out a little gasp that sounded quite fake to Ed, but he ignored it as he tried to listen in on what his little brother was saying on the other end of the line.

"I can't believe it! That's… horrible!" Winry breathed, pausing for a few moments for added dramatic effect. "Do you really think he did it, though…?" She played along with the innocent, surprised, I-didn't-know-anything-about-this sister/girlfriend role easily.

" _I don't know what to think anymore_."

Ed could barely make out Al's agitated voice, and he strained his ears to hear the rest of what he was saying. " _I mean, I can't imagine Ed doing something like that, but the Colonel says that he has evidence incriminating Ed. And since I'm not a State Alchemist, he can't share exactly what that evidence is_." Al let out a sigh before continuing, " _I'm just really stressed out right now… I have no idea where Ed is, and I can't talk to him, and it's…_ "

Ed felt a pang of pity deep in his gut. He knew it had been stupid, running away, but what else could he have done?

"Say, Al…" Winry said hesitantly, glancing down at Ed. "What would you do if you _could_ talk to Ed?"

Ed perked up at the mention of his name, his eyes quickly locking with Winry's. He panicked for a moment. He couldn't talk to Al! What if he blamed him? What if he told Mustang? What if-

But his what-if brainstorming session was cut short as Winry shoved the phone into his hands.

Al's voice cut through the receiver like a knife.

" _Brother?!_ " Al hissed, his voice barely above a whisper. " _Are you there?!_ "

Ed swallowed over a lump in his throat before replying. "Yeah." He murmured. "Yeah, it's me."

He heard Al sigh with relief. " _Thank God! I was so worried! Why'd you just run off like that_?"

Ed was silent.

" _Brother_?" Al inquired softly. " _Broth_ -"

"I don't know, Al. I don't know. I guess I just panicked." Ed exclaimed after a few moments, earning a glare from Winry as she put a finger to her lips to tell him to be quieter. But just as he opened his mouth to apologize, a noise from the hallway made them both turn to the door.

Ed panicked when he recognized the sound as footsteps. Winry whispered a quick, "I have to go, Al" into the receiver before slamming it down and hanging up the call. Grabbing Ed by the hood of his jacket, she pulled him over to a dresser in the far corner of the room and opened one of the drawers.

"Get in." She commanded. Ed took a step back.

"What?! Absolutely not! There's no way I'll be able to fit in there!" He glared at the small drawer. It was about five feet long and two feet wide, and it was completely stuffed with various clothing items.

"We don't have time for this!" She hissed, throwing a glance at the door. "Just _get_ _in_!" She grabbed him by his braid and shoved him into the lowest drawer, ignoring his muffled protest as he drowned in her clothes. She slammed it shut, telling him to be quiet until she gave him the "all-clear".

Ed mumbled something incoherent, trying to make himself comfortable in the sea of cloth. He fell silent as he heard someone knock on Winry's door.

He could make out Winry's quick shuffle as she headed over to the door and opened it. Ed could barely hear the inquiring voice of Mr. Garfiel asking what she was doing, if she was alright, and why was she talking to herself in the middle of the night? Pressing his ear against the wall of the drawer, Ed listened as Winry chuckled nervously and claimed that she couldn't sleep and that she had been working on some automail that a client had asked for that morning.

He let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding as he heard Winry bid Mr. Garfiel goodbye and close the door. Ed tensed as he felt the drawer jerk open violently, wincing as the light from Winry's desk hit his eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the change and attempting to make out Winry's facial expression from where he lie.

She sighed irritably and pulled him out by his hood, eliciting a yelp from the alchemist. Slamming the drawer shut once again, she turned to Ed again and hissed,

"You need to be more quiet! You're going to wake the whole town at this rate!"

Ed rolled his eyes, turning away and glancing at the time. 2:03 AM.

Winry followed his gaze.

"Geez," She sighed. "It's getting late. I have work tomorrow, so I'm going to try to sleep."

Ed looked like he wanted to protest, but in the end, he acknowledged her with a small nod. Winry smiled at him sympathetically.

"You can crash on the couch in my workshop downstairs. Mr. Garfiel doesn't usually go in there."

"Yes ma'am." Ed replied sardonically, already on his way to the door.

"Ed?" Winry called tentatively. "We'll prove you innocent, okay? No matter what."

Ed tensed at his spot in front of the door. He didn't turn around.

"'Night, Win." And then he was gone.


	3. The Teakettle and the Shopping Trip

Winry awoke to the panicked screeching of Mr. Garfiel.

She groaned and rubbed the sleep from the her eyes, glancing at the time.

7:00 AM. A little earlier than she had liked, but it was better than being late.

Another scream from downstairs made Winry flinch. She quickly swung her legs off the side of the bed and scrambled out of the sheets she had been tangled in. Swinging open the door, she leapt down the stairs and followed the continuous shouts coming from… her workshop?!

 _Ed's in there!_ She thought, speeding up her pace. But the sight before her was indescribable.

A panicked Mr. Garfiel held a teakettle in one hand, pointing at something on the floor while screaming bloody murder. At closer inspection, she realized that the "something" was Ed curled up into a ball, nursing a quickly forming bruise on his cheek.

"Winry!" Mr. Garfiel exclaimed. "He's here! The murderer I was reading about in the papers this morning! He's-"

Winry rushed over to him and shushed him.

"Let me explain." She began, slowly easing the teakettle out from Mr. Garfiel's grip. "Ed came to me last night. He's not a murderer - he's been _framed_."

Mr. Garfiel glanced over Winry's shoulder to look at Ed. The alchemist was now beginning to sit up and muttering to himself angrily. The older mechanic looked skeptical, and he met Winry's gaze and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Go on."

* * *

"I see." Mr. Garfiel sipped his tea, setting the cup down after a few moments. He still glanced at Ed skeptically, though, earning him a nasty glare from the alchemist in return.

Winry sighed at the wordless banter between the two.

"Well," Mr. Garfiel spoke up. "If you want to stay here, you're going to have to pay rent."

Ed gawked at him.

"First you accuse me of being a murderer, _then_ you hit me with a teakettle, and _then_ you have the nerve to try and leech all the money I have off of me?!" He snarled. "I don't even have any goddamned money! I had to sneak onto the fucking train to get here just because of that stupid bastard Mustang! He's got a bounty on my head and I don't-"

Mr. Garfiel held up a hand to silence him. "It's not your money I want, young man." He took another sip of his tea before continuing. "I want you to help out around here, lie low, and keep yourself out of trouble. Trust me," He cast an amused glance at Winry, "I know that you have a knack for finding it. If you get caught while you're staying here, all three of us will be hauled off, and I'd like to stay out of prison for at least a little while longer, if you can relate."

Ed slumped back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "...Fine." He grumbled, not meeting Garfiel's gaze.

Winry chuckled at Ed's pout, happy to see him getting into his normal persona again; at least somewhat.

"Oh, that reminds me," She said, trying to catch Ed's gaze(well, it was more of a glare). "I need you to run some errands for me. I'm missing a couple of pieces for a custom order that I got yesterday. I'll give you a list of the stuff I need you to get."

Ed perked up at this, an alarmed expression crossing his features almost immediately.

"You want me to go out there…?"

"Don't worry," She assured him, already writing down a list of the things she needed on a spare piece of scrap paper. "No one's out at this time. Just put your hood up and take the back way and you'll be fine."

Ed was still skeptical as he watched Winry scribble away at the piece of paper. After all, she had told him that Garfiel _usually_ didn't go into her workshop, and look where that had gotten him. He had definitely not expected the man to come waltzing into the room at seven A.M., interrupting his half-doze on the couch in the middle of the room.

Well, it couldn't really be called a doze. Ed had barely slept any, and even in the small time gaps in which he had, his sleep had been disturbed and haunted with nightmares.

Ed wondered if he had dark circles under his eyes. Eh, maybe. He would check later.

Winry slid the list over to Ed and stood up. "Come on," She said as she led him away from the kitchen table, "I'll show you where the back door is."

Ed regarded the list as Winry dragged him to the exit. The names of different wires, gears, screws, and gadgets danced before his eyes. He doubted he knew what even half of the names meant, let alone be able to find them and purchase them. But he kept his doubts to himself as Winry opened the back door and ushered him out. If worst came to worst, he could always ask a shop owner for help finding what he was looking for.

"Here, use this to buy the stuff with." Winry handed him a small wallet filled with cenz. "And, Ed," She began as he turned to leave, "Please don't get into trouble."

Ed smirked and pulled his hood up and over his head. "Yes ma'am." He replied sarcastically, waving to Winry as he headed out the alleyway leading from the back door of Garfiel's shop to the main street.

He skimmed over the list once more, instinctively pulling his hood down to conceal his face as he emerged out onto the main road.

"Alright," He muttered to himself with a grimace, "Let's go shopping."

* * *

To say Ed was tired would be an understatement.

He was utterly _exhausted_ from the day's events.

Or, rather, the day's _lack_ of events.

He had been bored out of his mind trying to find all of the things that Winry had wanted. He had searched every goddamn shop that existed in Rush Valley and asked every dumbass shop owner for each thing that Winry needed, all the while not having even the slightest clue of the meanings behind the stuff he was listing off of the small piece of crumpled paper in his hand.

Now, as he trudged down the dusty road back to the alleyway he had first come from, he wondered if it had been a good idea to come to Garfiel and Winry in the first place. He groaned, readjusting his grip on the heavy bag he was carrying.

Who knew that automail stuff weighed so damn much?

 _Well,_ Ed mused, _I should know._ The red and yellow hues of the setting sun glinted off of his automail, blinding him for a few moments before he pulled his sleeve down more and quickened his pace. He let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding once he caught sight of the alleyway leading to the back entrance of Garfiel's shop. Slipping into the alleyway, he pulled his hood down and nearly tripped on something stuck underneath his feet.

He took a step back to see what it was. A medium-sized, circular mirror had cracked underneath his weight. Ed had dismissed it and began to make his way back to the shop before something caught his eye.

Something shined in the darkness of the alleyway behind him. He leaned closer to the mirror to see if it was just a trick of the light, but even after he was practically crouching over the broken glass the reflection still did not disappear.

A loud clang made him look behind him.

A man had emerged out of the shadows, the red light glinting off of his oval, wire-rimmed glasses and giving his eyes a devilish look.

From past experiences, Ed could infer that mysterious men in dark alleyways were, more often than not, dangerous and to be avoided.

Ed took a step back, barely noticing as the glass cracked once more under his feet.

"Who are you?" He growled, shifting the weight of the bag between his two arms in anticipation.

"Hello there, Edward." The man replied nonchalantly, taking a step forward in response to Ed's retreat. "I've been looking for you."

Ed felt a shiver run down his spine as the man spoke again.

"Don't you remember me?" He cocked his head to the side and chuckled at Ed's angry expression. "Oh, that's cute."

He spread his arms out, his palms facing outwards towards Ed. The man looked the younger alchemist straight in the eye, grinning wildy.

"I'm Paul Beckett." He giggled. "Nice to see you again."


End file.
